


The One To Hold My Heart

by seeleyboothfan



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2014-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-09 14:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seeleyboothfan/pseuds/seeleyboothfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine said he would keep an eye on Burt for Kurt while he was living in New York and he's sticking true to that. They've agreed to try being friends again but they both know they've never stopped loving each other. What can the coming months bring for both of them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One To Hold My Heart

_I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth_

_And I've never opened up_

_I've never truly loved 'til you_

 

Blaine sighed and hung up. He waited a few seconds before pressing redial.  _Maybe third time will be the charm._ The phone didn't even ring once before it was picked up with a breathless, "Hello?"

 

"Rachel?" Blaine held the phone away from his ear.  _Nope, I definitely called Kurt's number._

 

"Hi, Blaine."

 

"Why are you answering Kurt's phone?"

 

"Oh, he left his phone home on accident. I wasn't going to answer but it kept ringing and I wanted to make sure there wasn't an emergency...  is there an emergency?" 

 

Blaine frowned and bit his lip, debating. Technically it wasn't an emergency, plus, he wasn't sure how much Kurt had been telling Rachel. Last he knew, Rachel and Kurt were not on speaking terms. Something about seeing a naked Brody one too many times and Kurt refusing to speak with her until she taught her boy some manners and common courtesies. "Not necessarily. It was just something about his dad."

 

"Oh my god, how is Burt? Kurt doesn't tell me anything these days."

 

"He's okay. He's just... look I'm not sure how much the Hummels are comfortable with me saying. They're trying to keep it in the family for right now." When only silence was the response, Blaine continued, "I'm sorry, Rachel, I really wish I could say more."

 

"Hey, it's okay. I know very well how they tend to shut people out to stay strong. I just hope they know they have friends who are here for them whenever they're ready to open up. The same goes for you, Blaine."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I know we didn't talk much last year and we weren't that close, but from what I could see you were closed off to everyone but Kurt.  I don't know whether you didn't want to look weak, or maybe that was the way your family worked, but you bottled it all up until you burst. I don't know much about what happened last fall with you and Kurt but I bet it has something to do with neither of you really talking since he moved to New York. It's so sad because you were perfect for each other.”

 

Blaine struggled to put the image of Rachel from High School together with the words she was saying. She never seemed to really care about or think about anyone but herself. New York seemed to be a really good place for Rachel; she had matured quite beautifully. “Thank you, Rachel.  I know I have people who are willing to listen, I guess I'm just not ready to open up that completely yet. Kurt and I are talking though, and that's the best I can hope for right now.”

 

"Was there something you wanted me to pass along to Kurt for you?"

 

"Maybe just let him know I called and ask if he could call me back tonight?"

 

"Of course." She sighed. "Kurt was out of here in such a flurry he forgot his scarf, too. You know how that boy gets on date nights." 

 

Blaine had started to laugh when Rachel mentioned Kurt forgetting his scarf but froze at her words. "Date night?"

 

"Oh, shit. I wasn't supposed to say that." Rachel groaned. "Kurt's gonna kill me."

 

Blaine wasn't really paying attention.  _Kurt's dating someone? It hasn't even been a month since I saw him for Christmas. He moved on so quickly._

 

"- was only trying to make a joke."

 

Rachel must have been talking still while Blaine was having his mental crisis. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

 

"I was just begging you not to tell Kurt that I told you. He didn't want you to know yet."

 

"Can I ask why that is?"

 

Rachel sighed. "Like I said, we don't talk much. I didn't even find out you had come here with Burt until last week. Kurt happened to let slip you guys were talking again and we mentioned you'd sort of made up on Christmas. Anyway, Brody and I bumped into Kurt and... the guy one night at Wicked. I asked him what you thought and he said he hadn't told you and he didn't plan on it."

 

Blaine felt tears well up in his eyes. "Did he look happy?"

 

"Kurt? Sure, I mean, he wasn't sad or upset, but he's not as happy as he was when he was with you."

 

Tears started slipping down Blaine's face and gave a hiccuping sob/laugh. "I know he didn't want you to tell me, but thank you for explaining."

 

"And you won't tell him I told you?"

 

"Cross my heart."

 

"Great, well, I have dinner plans, so I'll let you go. I'll tell Kurt you called. Take care of yourself, Blaine." Rachel paused. "And don't give up hope just yet."

 

Blaine made a questioning sound.

 

"I know you're a fighter and I know you won't give up on Kurt this easily. I still see you two ending up together in the end. Don't let us down."

 

"Thank you, Rachel."

 

"You're welcome."

 

They hung up, Blaine sinking to his bed and dropping his head onto his knees, letting the pain of their breakup he thought was long gone creep back up and consume him.

 

  _How the hell does a broken heart_

_Get back together when it's torn apart?_

_Teach itself to start beating again?_

 

The phone's shrill ring startled Blaine. He set down his pencil and reached over, swiping the screen to unlock it.

_Incoming call: Kurt._

Blaine hadn't been able to change the picture even though it hurt him every time he saw it. His and Kurt's smiling faces seemed to mock him for a few seconds before he registered the phone was still ringing. He fumbled a few seconds before pressing the accept button.

"Hello?" Blaine cleared his throat; his voice had been barely more than a squeak.

"Rachel said there was something going on with my dad?" Kurt sounded frantic. "What's going on? Did something happen? I haven't-"

"Woah. Slow down, Kurt. Things are okay with your Dad, there's no need to panic."

Kurt let his breath out in a large whoosh. "Yeah?"

Blaine nodded, adding a "yes" when he realized Kurt couldn't see him. "This is why I didn't want to tell Rachel anything. I knew she'd freak out and then freak you out."

"She does do that quite a lot." Blaine could hear the smile in Kurt's voice. "So my Dad's okay?"

Blaine sighed. "Listen, Kurt, your Dad is okay, but not as good as he should be. The doctor's aren't very happy with the progress of his treatment."

Kurt huffed. "I talked to Dad yesterday and he didn't say anything about this. He even said things were going really well."

"He didn't want to scare you."

"How come he told you about it? Why couldn't he tell his own son?"

"He didn't tell me. No one could bring him to his treatment last week so I offered. I'd gone to grab some coffee while he talked to the doctor and I overheard them when I came back. He asked me not to tell you. He said your studies were more important."

Kurt took a shaky breath. "Nothing's more important than my Dad." Blaine could hear typing in the background. "Looks like the earliest flight out of here isn't until tomorrow and it's really expensive. I wonder how long a train would take." Kurt started mumbling about prices and times as he continued to search.

Blaine plucked at a loose string from his pants. "Listen, Kurt, I'll make sure to stay out of your hair when you're here."

Kurt had been partway through a thought when Blaine had spoken. "-and I could- what?"

"I know how stressful it would be seeing each other again, and this visit is all about your dad, so I don't want you worrying that you'll have to deal with me, too. If you or he need anything, though, just let me know. I've been cooking and storing meals for Carole to heat up when she gets home, but they should have enough to last him for the next week or so."

"You've been..." Kurt trailed off and sighed. "Thank you, Blaine. You've done more than anyone else has for him and I can't begin to express what that means to me. Especially with the way things are between us... thank you."

"I promised I'd take care of him for you, Kurt. I am never breaking another promise to you."

"Thank you, too, for offering to give me time alone with my dad."

"Of course."

There was an awkward silence with only the sound of breathing coming from either of them. "I had better go. I need to start packing and finish purchasing these train tickets. I think I can make it there by Friday if I can get the funds together. Thank you again for keeping an eye on my Dad. I don't know what I'd do without you."

 _I'll be there for you as long as you need me._ Instead of speaking those words, Blaine simply replied, "You're welcome. Take care, Kurt."

 

_I hope that you see right through my walls_

_I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling_

_You put your arms around me and I'm hom_ e

 

_Ding-Dong_

Blaine looked over at the clock on the wall and frowned. Who would be visiting at 9:00 PM? In fact, who would be visiting him at all? No one at McKinley knew where he lived (with the exception of Sam, but he was working tonight) and he hadn't talked to any of the Warblers in months.

_Ding-Dong Ding-Dong Ding-Dong Ding-Dong_

"Goodness gracious, I'm coming!" Blaine grumbled, pressing pause on the movie and shuffling to the door. He peered through the peep hole, not wanting to open the door so late at night without knowing who it was. Kurt's tear-stained face peered back at him. Blaine froze for a moment before reaching quickly to open the door.

"Kurt?"

Instead of responding, Kurt threw himself into Blaine's arms. On instinct he tightened his arms around Kurt's body and pressed Kurt's face into the crook of his neck. Hot tears poured down Blaine's collar and Kurt's body trembled against him.

Blaine backed them both up carefully and kicked the door shut with his foot. They stood in the entryway, Blaine rubbing his hands up and down Kurt's back and whispering comforts into his ear. After several long moments, Kurt started to relax in Blaine's arms and his tears slowed.

"Kurt, what happened?"

Kurt sniffled and tried discreetly as possible to wipe his nose on his hand, grimacing. Blaine reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of Kleenexes. Kurt gave him a small smile and accepted one, wiping both his nose and his hand on it. "Can we sit somewhere?"

"Of course. The den okay?" At Kurt's nod, Blaine took Kurt's hand and led him to where he'd been watching a movie earlier. It was still paused, the image of Satine and Christian naked and entangled together awkwardly presented on the full screen of the TV. Blaine blushed darkly and flipped the TV off. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize, that's my favorite movie as well."

"I know."

They simply looked at each other for a few moments before they sat down together on the couch. Blaine reached around Kurt for the blanket and pulled it over their legs. Kurt laid his head on Blaine's shoulder and gave a deep sigh, nuzzling lightly. "I saw my Dad."

Blaine stayed silent, knowing Kurt would continue when he was ready. Blaine felt Kurt's hand slip into his own and let his thumb brush against Kurt's palm slowly.

Kurt's voice grew quieter and it sounded so tiny in the large room. "He was so tired and so pale. It was like he'd aged years since I saw him last." Kurt's fingers tightened around Blaine's. "I could tell he was trying to hide it but he looked to be in so much pain. It was a struggle just to feed himself his soup." His voice was barely a whisper. "He hates soup."

"He's made sure we all know exactly how much he hates it." That caused Kurt to give a chuckle, his body rumbling lightly against Blaine's. Blaine didn't want to continue but he knew Kurt valued his honesty above anything else. "It's all he can keep down after the chemo."

Kurt nodded. He pulled away from Blaine and looked at him, eyes blinking slowly. "Do you think he's going to die?" The look he gave Blaine was so serious and calm, it was scary.

"Do you really want my honest answer?"

"Have you ever been anything but honest?"

Blaine shook his head. "This is big, though, Kurt. You and I- we are just getting better; I don't want to screw this up again."

"You're the only person I can trust this with, Blaine. You're the only one I know won't sugarcoat it. I want to talk about this once and for all."

Blaine took a deep breath. "Then my answer is yes. I mean, obviously at some point everyone dies, but what I mean is I don't think Burt will make a full recovery. The doctor said that they were hopeful for a few years at most and that's what I agree with. With his heart and with how aggressive his cancer is, I don't think he'll be in that percentage that pulls through unscathed." Blaine voice wavered a few times as Kurt's face fell but he didn't let it stop what he knew Kurt needed to hear.

Kurt's chin trembled and his eyes were dark with grief. "I've already lost so much in my life, why do I have to lose more?"

"I wish I knew the answer, Kurt. I wish I could make all this go away. No one deserves this, especially your family."

"Can you hold me again?"

Blaine opened his arms up and Kurt's body fell into him. He pressed a kiss to the top of Kurt's head and leaned back so that they were lying side by side on the couch, Kurt cocooned in front of him. Blaine closed his eyes and nestled closer to Kurt, feeling sleep pull him under.

 

_I'll make sure to keep my distance_

_Say I love you when you're not listening_

_How long can we keep this up?_

_How long 'til we call this love?_

 

When Blaine next opened his eyes, it was light out. Kurt's uneven breaths clued Blaine in that he was already awake. Kurt's fingers were lightly trailing up and down Blaine's forearm, Kurt's foot brushed against Blaine's ankle as he stretched his leg out.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Kurt's voice was still rough with sleep.

Blaine chuckled quietly and pressed a kiss to the nape of Kurt's neck, second guessing it a few seconds too late. Kurt tensed for a moment but didn't make a comment. Instead, Kurt turned around in Blaine's arms and snaked his fingers into the curls at the nape of Blaine's neck. Without giving him a moment to think, he pulled Blaine to him and kissed him lightly.

"I love you."

"Kurt..."

"You're not going to say it back?" Kurt pouted.

"Not when you're dating someone else."

Kurt's eyes widened and he pulled back from Blaine. "How did you-"

"Rachel let it slip when we talked Tuesday."

Kurt frowned. "It wasn't even a date."

"Why did she say it was a date night then?"

"Rachel thinks anytime two people of similar sexual orientations go out to eat together, it has romantic connotations."

"So it wasn't-" Blaine felt relief rush through him.

Kurt shook his head. "Just dinner with a classmate. He knew I was lonely and he offered to treat me to dinner."

"That sounds a lot like a date. Is he single?"

Kurt blushed. "Yes. He asked me out before and I turned him down. I told him things were complicated and that I wasn't ready to move on." Kurt placed the palm of his hand on Blaine's chest over his heart. "I said a big piece of my heart was back in Ohio." Kurt leaned forward and pressed a kiss where his hand had been. "What Dad said at Christmas really got through to me."

Blaine thought he knew where this was going but he wanted to make sure before giving in with his whole heart. "What did he say?"

"He said that we needed to keep the people we love close to us, no matter what. He always taught me to say 'I love you' every chance I had because we never knew when it could be our last. He said it was the greatest comfort to know his last words to my Mom were those three words." Kurt cupped Blaine's face in his hands. "What happened earlier this year was bad and I know we're both sorry it came to that. I know we still need to talk and hash out exactly what that means for us, but not right now. What I want us to do right now is move past it and be in love again. Can we do that?"

"I want nothing more than to be able to love you again."

"Can we be boyfriends again?"

Blaine smiled. "Absolutely."

"Wonderful. Now come here and kiss me."

Blaine couldn't move quickly enough. He surged forward and kissed Kurt hungrily. They wound themselves as close as they could get and pulled apart only when they needed to suck in the smallest burst of oxygen before coming back together. They kissed for what felt like hours and it wasn't until Single Ladies blared from Kurt's phone that they finally pulled back completely.

Blaine barely had time to admire the kiss swollen lips and rats nest of hair on Kurt's head before he was rolling off the couch and diving for his phone which had fallen out of his pocket during their make-out session. "Dad?"

Blaine sat up and rearranged his wrinkled shirt. Kurt had pulled it from his pants in attempt to splay his hand on his stomach and only succeeded in pulling the front half out.

"Yeah, I'm okay... I'm at Blaine's... yes, he's fine too..." Kurt looked up at him and smiled brightly. "Yes, we can come over."

 

_Cause no one's going to take your place_

_Love like this is all I want, baby we're fate._

_Love like this may come once; baby we're fate._

_Like a soul mate_

 

The drive over had been spent singing along with the radio and holding hands the whole way. Burt had greeted both boys with a smile that widened when he saw their hands still clasped together.

After a nutritious lunch they retired to the living room. They talked for awhile about Kurt's classes and Blaine's ideas for fundraising at McKinley. Finally they settled into contented silence.

"I hope we'll be seeing Blaine more often for our family dinners." Burt commented to Kurt.

"He is for sure invited to next week's dinner." Kurt turned to Blaine. "I don't know why you stopped coming after I went to New York. You have been and always will be part of our family."

"I expect you to be here next week Friday at 6 on the dot."

Blaine sat up straighter when Burt addressed him. "Yes, Sir."

Burt laughed. "What's with this 'Sir'? You should know by now that you're to call me Burt." Burt put a hand to his mouth and leaned leaned closer to Blaine, whispering, "I had even hoped one day you'd call me Dad, but we've taken a few steps back from that recently."

Kurt spluttered. "Dad!"

"What? It's true. I saw the ring he gave you on Christmas last year. I knew one day soon one of you would replace it with the real thing. Especially now that you're back together." Burt paused and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not mistaken in that you worked things out, am I?"

Blaine reached out and squeezed Kurt's knee. They'd agreed in the car ride over that they wanted to keep Burt as stress-free as possible and the best way to do that was to tell him they'd gotten back together. If they told him that they still had difficult things to work on, he'd start focusing more on them and less on his treatments. "Yes, we made up. We talked for a while and then-"

Burt held up his hand "I don't need to hear the details. Kurt will forever be my little boy; I don't want to know about the sex."

Blaine's eyes widened, his hand stilled from where it had started stroking up and down Kurt's leg. He watched in horror as Kurt's face slowly grew red; it always amazed him how he could see the line of red creep from neck up to his ears. "Oh my  _god_ , Dad! We were fully clothed the whole night."

Burt chuckled. "Whatever did or did not happen last night, I'm glad you two have each other. Being in love with your best friend is the most wonderful feeling in the world. Don't ever let go of that."

Kurt and Blaine shared a smile. "We won't." They agreed in unison.

 

_Can you find the time to let your lover hold you?_

_He needs somebody to hold to,_

_His love is strong and so true;_

_His arrow is aiming for you_

_And he's the one that you were born to love._

 

Two years passed. Carole worked double shifts at the hospital to combat the medical bills and Finn worked night and day at the shop to make ends meet. Burt fought each day to hold at bay the cells attacking his body. Kurt was halfway through completing his bachelor's degree at Parsons, while Blaine pursued a teaching degree at NYU. They shared an apartment together and grew closer with each passing day.

Kurt hummed softly as he dried their dinner plates at the sink. He jumped when a pair of arms snaked around his waist but quickly relaxed into the body behind him. He smiled down at where Blaine's hands caressed his own. The light from above the sink caught the diamonds on his ring finger and his heart skipped a beat.

Kurt found out from Burt that Blaine had asked his permission for Kurt's hand not even a year after they'd gotten back together. Burt had patted Blaine on the back with a "Took you long enough, son." and a huge smile. He had waited nearly another year before asking Kurt to marry him. He wanted to make sure they were settled into an apartment and their life together before taking that final step towards being husbands.

Blaine had taken Kurt to Dalton and proposed on the stairway where they'd first met. Kurt had never forgotten the look on Blaine's face when they'd first locked eyes so many years ago and he'd never forget the look on his face when he asked Kurt if he'd be his husband.

"I still can't believe we're getting married next week."

Blaine pressed his lips along the column of Kurt's neck and gave a happy sigh. "I can't believe you planned it all yourself. Who else but you could plan this in only three months?"

They had decided for a short engagement. They'd found out a few days after Blaine's proposal that Burt's kidneys were failing and the dialysis wasn't helping. He'd been put on a donor list but the odds were looking slim. No one in the family was a match either. Neither of them told Burt that he was the reason they were getting married so quickly, that they wanted to make sure he could be there for the ceremony.

Kurt huffed. "That wedding planner was complete crap. Orange and pink for the colors?" Kurt tutted and continue drying the dish in his hand.

Blaine gave him one last peck and pulled away from him. He grabbed the dish from Kurt and placed it on the shelf next to the sink. "Did we get all the RSVPs back yet?"

Kurt paused to think. "As far as I know, only Mercedes hasn't responded. She's been off on her world tour so I haven't been able to reach her."

"If she has the day off, I'm sure she'll come."

"I hope so. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again, getting the old gang back together."

"What I am looking forward to most is becoming Mr. Kurt Hummel. Blaine Hummel. The Mr. Hummels." Blaine gave Kurt a dopey smile.

"Are you sure you don't want to hyphenate?" Kurt and Blaine had argued for a while once Kurt realized Blaine wanted to take the name Hummel and drop his own.

_" _Kurt, I've always considered Burt and you my true family. Besides, you're the only person who can pass on the Hummel name. The Anderson name will continue with Coop."__

_" _Are you sure about this? I want us to be equals in this relationship and to me it feels like I'm going to owe you something for this."__

_" _Kurt, didn't you hear what I said? I'm proud to take your name. It's my choice. It's not like I'm doing you a favor. Why would you think you'd owe me?"__

_" _Ever since we started dating you've done things for me that I can't ever repay. It feels like the scales are so uneven that we'll never be balanced."__

_" _Kurt, I don't do things for you with the expectation of anything in return. I love you and do things for you because I think you deserve them."__

_Kurt didn't respond. He stood with his arms crossed on his chest._

_Blaine put his hands on his hips and sighed. "You know what? Forget it. If you think I'm the type of person who keeps score, than maybe you don't know me at all. Maybe this was a mistake."_

_He bent down and yanked his shoes on, stomping over to the door and ripping his coat off the hook before walking out the door. Kurt could only stand in shock as he watched the love of his life leave their home._

_Blaine stayed out for four hours. Kurt curled up on the couch and sobbed, twisting his engagement ring around his finger. He almost didn't answer their phone when it started to ring but he finally took it off the hook._

_" _Hello?" His voice was shaky at best.__

_" _Kurt." Blaine's voice was wrecked on the other end of the line.__

_" **Blaine**! _" Kurt felt relief flood through him.__

_" _I'm going to be staying at Wes' house tonight." Kurt's heart sunk. "Please don't think that that means that we- what I mean is- Kurt, I love you."__

_" _I love you, too." His response was automatic.__

_" _I know, but right now I'm pissed off and I need to clear my head. What you said really hurt me and I want you to think about how it made me feel.” He heard Blaine take a deep breath. “None of this changes the way I feel about you. We always promised we'd make sure the other knew how much we loved them and I'm sticking to that promise."__

_Kurt felt his face crack into a smile even as tears still poured down his face and he sniffled._

_" _Tomorrow I'll come home and we'll kiss and make up and in three weeks you'll be my husband."__

_" _I love you so much, Blaine and I'm sorry for what I said."__

_" _I know you are. Sleep well, love, and I'll see you tomorrow."__

_" _Goodnight, Blaine."__

Blaine was true to his word. Come morning light Kurt was woken up to Blaine's arm curling tightly around him, and lips pressing lightly to his.

That was two weeks ago and they hadn't brought it up again, at least, until tonight.

"Kurt..." Blaine's voice lightly reprimanded him.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure one more time."

"I'm certain. Now, why don't we go to bed? We've got a long day ahead of us."

Kurt nodded and took Blaine's hand and together they walked to their bedroom.

 

_Can you find the time to let your lover love you?_

_He only wants to show you the_

_Things he wants to learn too._

_The hardest parts you'll get through,_

_And in the end you'll have your best friend._

 

The wedding went off without a hitch. Burt was the healthiest they'd seen him in a long time and the night was a celebration of friendship and love. After a short honeymoon in California Kurt and Blaine returned to New York to continue their schooling.

Burt had a few good weeks and then suddenly things went downhill. Kurt and Blaine took turns with Carole sitting with Burt at the hospital until he slipped away one night in his sleep. It was a tough few weeks. Kurt was nearly inconsolable after the funeral. Blaine took the semester off to be home for whenever Kurt needed him.

Gradually Kurt returned to his normal life and Blaine picked back up with where he'd left off in his degree. They both graduated at the top of their class. Blaine ended up teaching music at an elementary school in their neighborhood and Kurt started designing his own line.

It was not many more years down the road that they started discussing children. Blaine always wanted a brood and Kurt didn't care, so long as they had each other. They agreed that adoption was the process they wanted to pursue. There were too many children in the world already; they didn't need to add more.

They were enjoying their cups of coffee one Saturday afternoon when the call came. A child matching their description had been put up for adoption. They drove out that day and immediately fell in love. The boy had just turned 3 and he was stunning. Timothy had shockingly bright blue eyes and his golden hair fell in waves down his back.

When they signed the papers, they noticed he didn't have a middle name. Kurt started crying when Blaine scribbled "Burt" into the space between the "Timothy" and "Hummel" on the paperwork.

After they brought Timothy home, time seemed to fly by. They had their struggles but through it all there was ultimately love. Best friends, turned lovers turned husbands, but still ultimately best friends forever.

 


End file.
